All people is aware of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz Jr. and the legend of “I Love Lucy.” However do they actually?
There have been a number of motion pictures through the years in regards to the two icons, together with Aaron Sorkin’s latest “Being the Ricardos.” However the story of “Lucy and Desi” goes far past the smash success of “I Love Lucy,” and that’s what acquired Lucie Arnaz — the daughter of the late Hollywood icons — interested by doing one thing greater. Arnaz has partnered with former NBC Leisure and WarnerMedia Leisure chairman Bob Greenblatt to develop what they envision as a three-season deep dive into the lives of Ball and Arnaz Jr., from the couple’s separate tumultuous upbringings to creating TV historical past with “I Love Lucy” — after which the clashes that led to their eventual divorce.
Arnaz and Greenblatt have recruited Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Richard LaGravenese (“The Fisher King,” “Behind the Candelabra”) to create the sequence, which can depend on supply materials together with autobiographies written by Ball and Arnaz Jr., the rights of which have reverted to Arnaz. Greenblatt’s The Inexperienced Room and Arnaz’s Desilu Productions are behind the undertaking, which may even be produced by Inexperienced Room content material head Jon Wu.
“If you happen to’re actually keen to take a look at the entire thing, there’s fairly a narrative there, and loads to be discovered,” Arnaz stated. “It’s very emotional, and it’s not what folks suppose. It’s not simply all about ‘I Love Lucy.’”
Arnaz and Greenblatt have put collectively a pitch deck for the sequence, with the working title “Lucy and Desi: The Best Story By no means Instructed,” and plan to begin assembly with networks and streamers within the coming months. The timing of the pitch comes as “I Love Lucy” celebrates its seventy fifth anniversary in 2026 (the present debuted in October 1951) and on the heels of two new books exploring the couple: “Desi Arnaz, The Man Who Invented Tv,” by Todd S. Purdum, and Arnaz’s personal new have a look at her mother and father’ relationship, “Lucy & Desi: The Love Letters,” which she edited.
“As we take it to consumers, there’s a model of this that might be 10 hours and achieved, if any individual needs to leap in with that,” Greenblatt stated. “However we need to current it as a multi-season present. We predict it’s three seasons of eight episodes. Clearly, we’ve got to seek out the appropriate purchaser and cater to what they need to do. Nevertheless it must have time to breathe. It truly is a unprecedented story, from once they’re every youngsters of their separate worlds — one being Cuba because it’s coming aside on the seams, and one being very WASPy New York. They have been each thrust out on their very own, shortly at a younger age, to attempt to determine who they have been and discover their method within the enterprise. Then they converge in 1940 on a soundstage at RKO, doing a film collectively. ‘I Love Lucy’ is 11 years later, however that’s 11 years once they’re collectively in a wedding that’s up and down and sophisticated.”
Arnaz and Greenblatt have been impressed by the timeline of Netflix’s “The Crown” to equally divide “Lucy and Desi” into completely different eras. Of their pitch, Season 1, “From Cuba and Jamestown to New York and Hollywood,” would give attention to 1930 to 1940; Season 2, “Household Life, B-Films and Radio,” would span from 1940 to 1951; and Season 3, “The Ricardos Catch Fireplace, and Past,” would have a look at the “I Love Lucy” period, from 1951 to 1960 and extra.
In partnering with LaGravenese (who most just lately penned Paramount+’s upcoming “Unspeakable: The Homicide of JonBenét Ramsey”) and never a comedy author, Arnaz stated it was vital to discover among the darker elements of her mother and father’ relationship along with the great instances.
“The story is just not all ha-ha. There’s a whole lot of unhappiness, there’s dependancy, and there’s dishonest, and there’s numerous fights for no cause,” she stated. “There’s one thing to be discovered from what they went by way of and the way it’s not that simple to have all of it… They’d this excellent legacy, which simply occurs to be the funniest present ever. However they’re greater than that present. Their lives, individually and collectively, have been very thrilling and superb and deep. Discovering the appropriate author was laborious as a result of most individuals would possibly suppose that, as a result of we’re doing the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that it’s going to be actually humorous. And it’s going to have nice sorts of humor in it. Nevertheless it’s not ‘I Love Lucy.’ It’s not a sitcom. All people says, ‘your father invented tv,’ however in actuality, that’s under no circumstances what he was attempting to do. They have been simply attempting to remain collectively, and do a present.”
Arnaz and Greenblatt first collaborated when he produced a fortieth anniversary reunion live performance profit for “They’re Enjoying Our Music,” the musical that served as her Broadway debut. Across the similar time, Arnaz was an government producer on “Being the Ricardos,” however finally that movie targeted totally on one second in time within the Lucy/Desi relationship — and so, Arnaz introduced the concept of a much wider have a look at her mother and father to Greenblatt, they usually began collaborating on what would develop into this sequence pitch.
“Lucie has this skill to separate herself from being in the course of it and actually see it from an goal standpoint,” Greenblatt stated. “She’s the primary particular person to say, ‘we need to do it warts and all, and we don’t need to simply whitewash it and defend everyone.’ It truly is complicated. Can we get beneath the causes and the explanations for the way in which they have been. All of us suppose they’re the Ricardos. There’s part of them that’s who they have been, however that’s so little of the total image.”
LeGravenese entered the image when Arnaz and Greenblatt went on the lookout for any individual who may steadiness the comedy of “I Love Lucy” with the drama of what occurred behind the scenes.
“Richard got here to thoughts, as he’s acquired this nice background in writing function movies prominently for many of his life and extra just lately tv,” Greenblatt stated. “I like his ‘Behind the Candelabra’ film, for which he received the Emmy. After we introduced the concept to him, he simply lit up. He’s like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve cherished these two folks as a fan, and I’ve gone down the rabbit gap on the web many instances.’ He simply knew loads in regards to the story already. Then all of us met, and Lucie met him, and he simply felt like the appropriate man.”
Added Arnaz: “There’s been now two TV motion pictures and a function movie and my documentary, however none of these different movies ever checked out, ‘OK, that occurred and that occurred, however why? Why did he try this? Why did she reply that method?’ I wished to right that. If nothing else, I wished to have the ability to have a look at them as folks and say, ‘aren’t they attention-grabbing? Think about, even with all that sorrow and all that loss, he was ready to do that. After which he needed to drink. Effectively, why did he have hookers? Why did that occur?’ And so if we will present the early and go all the way in which to the top, indirectly, we’d have the ability to assist folks perceive them much more.”
